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Ligue 1 wrap: Lille, Bordeaux held to draws

Lille missed the opportunity to close the gap on Ligue 1 leaders Marseille, while title aspirants Bordeaux were held at Valenciennes.

Rudi Garcia's men made the trip to Troyes on Saturday but could only manage a 1-1 draw after a late equaliser from Sebastien Grax.

With a Champions League encounter against BATE Borisov scheduled on Wednesday, Lille were keen to create some momentum heading into the clash and they hit the front seven minutes before the break.

Dimitri Payet showed great control and composure in the 38th minute before unleashing a well-placed shot into the bottom corner.

Lille dominated for extended periods but were punished for some lacklustre defending.

Stephane Darbion whipped in a cross with just two minutes remaining and Grax pounced to earn Troyes a valuable point.

Troyes are third from bottom on the table, while Lille sit in 10th place, six points adrift of Marseille.

Bordeaux, one of five unbeaten teams in Ligue 1, played out a goalless draw with sixth-placed Valenciennes at the Stade du Hainaut.

The 2008/09 league champions went into the match on the back of two successive draws against Nice and Paris Saint-Germain.

And that continued on their trip to Valenciennes.

Both sides struggled to find their rhythm, which resulted in the pair's first goalless match since Valenciennes' promotion to Ligue 1 in 2005.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Nice claimed their first three points of the season with a thrilling 4-2 win at home to Brest.

After a goalless opening 45 minutes, Nice hit their stride and scored three goals before the 70th-minute mark through Camel Meriem, Nemanja Pejcinovic and Eric Bautheac.

Jonathan Ayite converted a 78th-minute penalty to give the visitors some hope but Valentin Eysseric restored Nice's four-goal advantage before Paul Baysse netted a consolation goal for Brest with the last kick of the game.

Meanwhile, Evian TG comfortably accounted for Bastia 3-0 to record their first victory of the season and struggling Sochaux ended their dismal start to the year with a 1-0 win at Saint-Etienne.